Iran said to seek big changes to draft nuclear deal

Iran formally responded to a U.N. draft nuclear fuel deal on Thursday, proposing big changes that could sink the plan, including sending its low-enriched uranium abroad in stages instead of all at once, Iranian media reported.

Tehran submitted its answer to the head of the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA), according to al Alam state television. There was no immediate confirmation from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, which had demanded a reply by last Friday.

Nor did Iran's IAEA ambassador, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, confirm the move when asked by reporters at the Vienna-based IAEA. He would only say that Iran's stance was "positive." [via Yahoo! News]

Labels: IAEA, Iran

Tourist Trip To Halabiye

From ArmsControlWonk

As you might know, close to the reactor there is an old Byzantine fortress called Halabiye (Frank Pabian mentioned it in his presentation). Tourists only seldom visit Halabiye, but still some travel-guides mention it, so a visit to the fortress was not too obvious. I tried to see how close I could get to the reactor, in the end I was 1.5 km away.

http://www.armscontrolwonk.com/2514/tourist-trip-to-halabiye

Labels: Nuclear Reactor, Syria

Iran Set to Respond to Atomic Deal this Week - Associated Press

Iran's envoy to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency will present Tehran's position on a draft nuclear fuel deal in Vienna on Thursday, the semi-official Mehr News Agency reported on Wednesday. Mehr, citing an informed source, said Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh would personally give Iran's response to Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
[via Reuters and Morning Joe]

Labels: IAEA, Iran, nuclear fuel

Iran fails to accept U.N.-drafted nuclear deal

Iran Friday failed to accept a U.N.-drafted plan for it to cut a stockpile of nuclear fuel that the West fears could be used for weapons, and instead said it wanted to buy nuclear fuel from abroad.

The deal drafted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has already been approved by the other parties -- the United States, Russia and France. [via Yahoo! News]

Labels: IAEA, Iran

August 2009 IAEA Reports on Iran, Syria

August 2009 IAEA Reports on Iran and Syria. Commentary available at armscontrolwonk.com

Labels: IAEA, Iran, Syria

Rachel Maddow: Her Intelligence is Right.

If you missed Rachel Maddow's interview with former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on August 31, then take a moment and at least read this from Joe Cirincione's blog.

Labels: WMD

Africa Is Now Officially A Zone Free Of Nuclear Weapons

Thirteen years after it officially opened for signature, the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Pelindaba) has finally come into force with the twenty-eighth deposit of its ratification instrument by Burundi on 15 July 2009.

Entry-into-force of the Treaty of Pelindaba confirms Africa’s resolve to strengthen the global nuclear weapon-free regime and contribute to international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation processes, as was stressed by the AU’s Peace and Security Council in 2006. In addition, the declaration of Africa as a nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) means that the entire southern hemisphere is now nuclear weapons free.

Like other NWFZ treaties, the Treaty of Pelindaba, includes protocols for the five Nuclear Weapons States (NWS) to sign. To date, the United Kingdom, France and China have signed and ratified these Protocols, but the Russian Federation and the United States are yet to ratify. By adhering to the Protocols, NWS commit themselves to respecting the status of the zone. [via Institute for Security Studies]

Labels: Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, Treaty of Pelindaba